Monday, February 16, 2009

The blog Lingwë accurately points out that the name Kafiristan translates into English as “place of infidels.” The Online Etymology Dictionary ponders the Arabic root word qafir a bit and expand that translation into such memorables as “place of impious wretches,” “place of concealers,” “place of deniers,” “place of non-Muslims,” and “place of Christians.” As the post at Lingwë points out, that Arabic qafir is probably more familiar to people today from the name of Kaffir limes, whose leaves are often used in Thai cuisine. The Wikipedia page on the Kaffir lime cites the Oxford Companion to Food as recommending that we call the these ingredients makrud leaves and makrud limes, as the “heathen” associations still attacked to Kaffir are a little unsavory — even if the leaves themselves might be a savory ingredient, for all I know.